By JESSE GRAHAM
UNIVERSITY debts could deepen and will be paid back earlier under Federal Budget changes, with more autonomy for institutions to deregulate fees.
Last week’s Federal Budget outlined a number of changes for the higher education sector, with a reduction in the repayment threshold for university loans and deregulation of university fees.
This means that, as of 1 July 2016, students will begin repaying their HECS-HELP debt once they earn over $50,638, a lowering of the threshold from $53,345 in this financial year.
The amount of accumulated debt could also be set to rise or fall depending on courses, with university tuition fees set to be deregulated as of 2016.
As a result, some highly sought-after courses from prestigious universities may raise tuition costs to students, while others may lower theirs to compete with other providers.
Healesville resident and La Trobe University student Jesse Wilkinson said he had concerns over the deregulation of university fees, which, he believed could discourage students from chasing prestigious courses if prices rise.
“If somebody wants to go into medicine, or if they want to go into law, that is a literal investment in the future of the country,” he said.
“If people are going to go into that knowing that, as a result of doing what they want to do, they are going to have a higher and more intense debt, it might discourage them.”
New Commonwealth Scholarships will be created to provide disadvantaged students with places at universities, which will be funded by $1 out of every $5 that universities raise in additional revenue from the fee changes.
Treasurer Joe Hockey said that deregulating university fees would allow for providers to compete more freely and improve their course quality.
Mr Hockey said that, while course fees might rise and fall, access to HECS-HELP would still be free-of-charge to all students, until they earn over the threshold.
As part of the changes to the higher education sector, the government will apprentice loans of $20,000, which will be repaid when recipients earn over the HECS-HELP debt threshold of $50,638.
The loans replace a current hand-out to apprentices of $5500 for tools over the course of their apprenticeship.
For more information on the Federal Budget, visit www.budget.gov.au.
